Ed Brayton is a journalist, commentator and speaker. He is the co-founder and president of 
A network in Turkey is dipping its toe in the reality TV pool with a rather novel idea:
A new show set to grace Turkish television screens will see a Muslim imam, a Christian priest, a Jewish rabbi and a Buddhist monk competing to turn 10 unbelievers into devotees of their own faith each week.The show, "Tövbekarlar Yarışıyor," which can be roughly translated as "Penitents Compete," will appear on Kanal T starting in early September. The imam, priest, rabbi and monk will try to convert at least one person in every show.
First of all, they're doing this all wrong. They should have them all live in a house together where the Imam, the Rabbi and the minister can berate them for weeks on end until they convert. And they should mix in a few washed up quasi-celebs. Surely there must be a Turkish equivalent to Stephen Baldwin. Oh, and they have to vote them off and send them packing with a clever catchphrase. I suggest "go to hell" would work perfectly.
But just look what you win if you do convert:
Each week, a different group of atheists will appear in front of the religious leaders. The producers of the show are well aware that there is a chance none of the atheists will be convinced by the arguments presented to them. Yet if an ex-atheist is "persuaded" to start following one of the religions, he or she will have the chance to travel to that religion's center, whether Jerusalem for Christians and Jews or Mecca for Muslims or Tibet for Buddhists."The commission will also follow them after the show. They can't see this trip as a getaway, but as a religious experience," Özdemir said. "People are free to believe in anything they want. Our program does not have a say."
As dumb as this show will almost certainly be, the reaction from the pious in Turkey ranges from the absurd to the idiotic regardless of the religion of the person reacting:
The yet-to-air program has already drawn reactions from many people, mostly Christians. Hakkı Devrim, a television commentator and columnist for daily Radikal called the idea absurd and said such a show insults religion."Religion is not a science, and it is not open to discussion," Devrim said, adding that the program offers atheists a chance to voice their own thoughts...
Prof. Mustafa Çağrıcı, an Istanbul mufti and the provincial head of the Religious Affairs Directorate, partially agreed with Devrim, saying religions could be discussed, but not on such a television program. He said such an extreme program could create complications in peoples' minds. "I don't know about the legal or media process of it, but as an academic, I don't find it right to discuss religion in such environments," Çağrıcı said.
Noting that the Religious Affairs Directorate is responsible for any appearances of imams on television, as well as the content of their speeches, Çağrıcı said if the imam participating in the show worked within the Istanbul borders, he would not have let him appear.
Politics
Comments
"A new show set to grace Turkish television screens will see a Muslim imam, a Christian priest, a Jewish rabbi and a Buddhist monk . . ."
. . . go into a bar!
Sorry, I had to do it.
Posted by: Daniel Kim | July 4, 2009 9:31 AM
Well, that's the big problem right there, isn't it? Wanting the chance to voice their own thoughts is what got Adam and Eve into trouble in the first place. When will us lowly worms of humanity learn that ours is not to think but to praise?
Posted by: Mike Haubrich, FCD | July 4, 2009 10:02 AM
I see a possible negative consequence of this program for the religions involved. Giving a public forum to atheist ideas could cause the viewers to start questioning their own beliefs. I can't imagine an intelligent atheist being swayed in her convictions in an hour or so of irrational debate. But I can see the possibility of the sowing of seeds of doubt in the viewing public.
Posted by: Dogbert | July 4, 2009 10:03 AM
"...could create complications in peoples' minds..."
Actually, if the show accomplishes this, it might be worth while.
However, I agree, the premise is ridiculous.
Posted by: Mobius | July 4, 2009 10:07 AM
It's somewhat refreshing to see someone be so honest about what really differentiates religion from science.
Posted by: Wes | July 4, 2009 11:01 AM
If Paris was worth a Mass, a free trip to Tibet is surely worth a bit of meditation.
Posted by: Scott Hanley | July 4, 2009 11:02 AM
Dammit. Finally a reality show I would watch, and it's in Turkey.
Posted by: Strummer | July 4, 2009 11:05 AM
I say we switch around: have just one atheist, who gets to vote off one religion per week.
Posted by: Miko | July 4, 2009 11:15 AM
Can we try this show in the US? We could add Mormons, Scientologists, fundie Christians, and kabbalists to the mix. But we'd have to omit any celebs or former celebs. They've already demonstrated a substantial lack of critical thinking -- the show would last just one episode.
Posted by: wheatdogg | July 4, 2009 11:19 AM
"Oh, and they have to vote them off and send them packing with a clever catchphrase. I suggest 'go to hell' would work perfectly". LOL!
Posted by: soboco | July 4, 2009 11:21 AM
Posted by: James Hanley | July 4, 2009 11:24 AM
C'mon, Big Money... Big Money... No Wahabis... and Stop!
Posted by: Erik | July 4, 2009 11:47 AM
It was exposure to the wide variety of contradictory religious views that led me to start questioning religion. Sounds like a great show to me.
Posted by: Alex | July 4, 2009 12:10 PM
Good idea. Let's bring Jesus and Mo to television!
Posted by: xebecs | July 4, 2009 12:18 PM
Whatever rabbi they got for the job would have to be a real sell-out. Jews, on principle, don't recruit. So the rabbi would have to stand there and hope the atheists walk up to him, begging to convert, even after the rabbi drives them away several times.
Posted by: Brandon | July 4, 2009 12:22 PM
I think the various clerics should be trying to convert *each other* over the course of ten weeks. That might be marginally more entertaining.
Posted by: Adrienne | July 4, 2009 12:52 PM
I wonder how fast I'd get kicked of the show if I'd drag along my annotated bible. The one pointing out all the discrepancies between how good, powerful & knowing this god of Abraham is supposed to be and what is really said & done in the bible.
The buddist is harder to crack since there are so many sects with different interpretations. The best would be the one that nicked parts of the bible.
Posted by: Who Cares | July 4, 2009 1:24 PM
I can quite categorically agree with that. Science usually has some basis in reality.
Posted by: Smidgy | July 4, 2009 3:29 PM
Big Brother jumped the shark years ago. I only watched the first (UK) series, but if they did a special themed one where they fill the house with ten religious leaders, I would definitely watch it again. As long as they selected individuals from the extreme ends of the respective religions, I think it would be awesome.
The format proposed for the Turkish programme just sounds dull.
Posted by: XD | July 4, 2009 3:36 PM
The format proposed for the Turkish programme just sounds dull.
Posted by: XD | July 4, 2009 3:36 PM
Not if they let them show up armed to the teeth.
Posted by: democommie | July 4, 2009 4:46 PM
I kinda wish I was on the show: "you say that jesus is the son of god, the rabbi says that's bull. You can't both be right, so why is he wrong?"
Surely the religious preists should be trying to convert one another? We could put a whole bunch of religious nuts together, give them all guns, and .... no, wait: that's already been done. I think the show was called "western civilisation".
Posted by: Paul Murray | July 5, 2009 10:45 AM
From this article on the same subject:
"We are giving the biggest prize in the world, the gift of belief in God," Kanal T chief executive Seyhan Soylu told Reuters.
"We don't approve of anyone being an atheist. God is great and it doesn't matter which religion you believe in. The important thing is to believe," Soylu said.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090703/od_nm/us_gameshow_odd
Why am I wondering if this show is going to be rigged?
Posted by: Joshua Zelinsky | July 5, 2009 3:57 PM
sooo...you go on a show to win a free holiday. And all you have to do is say you're a believer now.
No self respecting atheist would waste their time on this but I could see a few non-believing fence sitters wanting 15 minutes of fame.
Posted by: Richard Eis | July 6, 2009 4:21 AM
I love how idiotic this show is - I find it hard to believe it's actually real rather than a publicity stunt. I mean, how on earth do you prove that someone has converted? Do they use a modified E-meter? What happens if two or more people claim to have converted? Do they have a faith-off? And what's a rabbi doing in this show? Judaism, by and large, isn't a proselytising religion.
Posted by: Ginger Yellow | July 6, 2009 6:45 AM
Forgot the most ridiculous thing about this show. The premise is clearly that faith of any sort is better than no faith at all - otherwise they'd just have an imam (Turkey's something like 93% Muslim). Yet Turkey is a country that takes secular government more seriously than just about any other country on earth, with the possible exception of France. I mean, they nearly had a coup recently because the army was unhappy about the Islamic party winning power.
Posted by: Ginger Yellow | July 6, 2009 6:49 AM